The Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt are two highly anticipated “Green” cars coming out this year. But, who is the “Greenest Automaker” of them all? According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), that honor currently goes to Honda for the fifth consecutive year.

Toyota and Hyundai tied for second place. VW was fourth, followed by Nissan, Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Together, these automakers’ vehicles account for more than 90 percent of cars and trucks sold in the U.S.

This year, UCS indicated that all automakers improved their emission scores, which they attributed to state and federal smog-forming laws that place demands on the automakers to reduce emissions from cars. UCS anticipates that new fuel economy and global warming emissions standards that are being phased in now will help reduce the pollutants produced by cars, too.

The determination of Greenest Automaker is based on government data for model year 2008 (the latest year available) and looks at the average per-mile smog pollution and global warming emissions of the entire fleet of vehicles sold by each automaker. UCS began ranking automakers based on these criteria in 1998 and has noted that the gap between “best” and “worst” automaker has significantly narrowed since then.

Buying a Green Car Today

The Green Search on CarLocate.com makes it easier for you to shop for an environmentally friendly car.

New cars with an EPA standard of a combined fuel economy of 23.1 mpg or above. They also have an EPA Greenhouse Gas Score of six or above.

Used cars with an EPA standard of a combined fuel economy of 23.1 mpg or above.

Additionally, even if you don’t use the Green Search directly to find a car, anytime you see the green leaf symbol () next to a vehicle listing on our site, it means that car meets our Green Search criteria.